Study Overseas

Illinois residents are serious about the importance of education. Education is a major component of the state's budget, with state and local operating expenditures for elementary and secondary pupils ranking among the top five in the nation. About half of Illinois workers have pursued education beyond the high school level. Illinois has some of the finest colleges and universities in the nation.

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Elementary and Secondary Education

Illinois has approximately 900 public school districts, with more than 4,000 public schools and approximately 1,400 nonpublic schools. In the 2004-05 school year, there were nearly 2.3 million pupils attending Illinois schools. Approximately 139,000 students graduate from Illinois high schools each year (according to the most recent data available).

Community Colleges

Career and technical education is important in Illinois. There are 48 community colleges and one community college center located in 39 college districts in Illinois. During fiscal year 2005, community colleges enrolled over 698,000 students in credit courses. The colleges provide instruction and work force preparation in more than 240 occupational specialties. The Community College Board estimates more than 90 percent of its graduates remain in Illinois to work. Many community college students are working adults.

Illinois community colleges provide comprehensive, market-driven services based on local employer needs. Colleges can analyze an organization's needs and offer in-depth assessments of the entire organization. Training is delivered at the workplace, on campus, or on-line. Services range from professional continuing education and customized job training to entrepreneurship training, consulting services, government contract procurement assistance, and industrial attraction and retention. The colleges also help businesses acquire training funds through various state and federal programs. In fiscal year 2005, community colleges provided customized training to 3,032 companies, serving over 88,000 employees.

A primary economic development activity of the community colleges is the valuable resources they provide to business and industry. Across the state, community colleges, through their business and industry centers, work with businesses, industries, and economic development entities to recruit and train workers, retain existing businesses, and bring new businesses and jobs to Illinois. Additionally, colleges engage local business partners through their participation on program advisory committees for the career and technical education programs. This provides industry partners with a forum to render input directly to the college - and ensures that community college programs are always reflective of the latest industry trends.

Colleges and Universities

Illinois boasts 175 degree-granting institutions that enrolled 801,548 students in the fall of 2004. There are nine public universities on 12 campuses that offer a full range of educational programs, including nearly 700 baccalaureate degree programs; more than 550 master's degree programs; nearly 200 doctoral programs; and professional degrees in medicine, veterinary medicine, dentistry and law. In the private sector, 99 institutions are not-for-profit colleges and universities, while an additional 28 are proprietary. In fall 2004, nearly three in ten college students - 237,877 - enrolled in private institutions.

Many Illinois institutions have world-class reputations. U.S. News and World Report's 2004 ranking of National Universities - Doctoral (schools with a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs that often emphasize research) included three Illinois universities among the top 40: Northwestern (11th), the University of Chicago (13th), and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (40th). US News' 2006 assessment of M.B.A. programs ranked Northwestern's Kellogg school fourth in the country, followed by the nearby University of Chicago. Northwestern is credited for its close-knit culture and honing of marketing skills, while the University of Chicago graduates are lauded for their financial and analytical skills. In addition, the University of Illinois in Champaign-Urbana is ranked fifth nationally by U.S. News & World Report for its school of engineering.

BUSINESS IS BOOMING IN ILLINOIS

Did You Know:

• Microsoft's Internet Explorer is based upon NCSA Mosaic, which was developed by the National Center for Supercomputing Applications at the University of Illinois.
• A University of Illinois alum, who had previously worked at the NCSA, launched another very popular Internet navigation system, Netscape.
• Illinois' gross state product is fifth among the states with an estimated $560 billion in 2005.
• For its business, if Illinois were a country it would rank 22nd in the world.
• A survey by the Annual Survey of Manufacturers rated Illinois is the top state in machinery manufacturing.
• Illinois ranked fourth as the headquarters to 32 of the nation's 16st companies on the 2006 Fortune 500 list.
• Illinois is home to 21 companies on Fortune magazine's list of most admired companies. Three Illinois companies made Fortune's list of the best companies to work for.
• There are an estimated 285,000 women-owned firms in Illinois, accounting for 30% of all privately held firms.
• Illinois' $35.9 billion in exports ranked sixth among U.S. states in 2005. The top export sector was Machinery Manufacturing (excluding electrical) at $10.4 billion.
• In 2004 Illinois hosted over 1.5 million international visitors that spent nearly $1.7 billion.

INTERNATIONAL TRADE IN ILLINOIS

Illinois has long been aware of the significance of international trade. The Illinois Office of Trade and Investment within the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity was established in 1965 to assist Illinois companies in locating distribution channels for their products in foreign markets. Illinois was among the first states to operate an international trade office when it opened a facility in Brussels, Belgium in 1968. Today, the state has expanded its breadth and depth in the promotion of international trade and the responsibility of attracting foreign direct investment

International markets play a critical role in the Illinois economy. International powerhouses such as Caterpillar Inc., Deere & Company, Archer Daniels Midland, Motorola, Abbott Labs and Boeing, are headquartered in Illinois, helping to make Illinois the sixth 16st exporting state in the nation. Exports of manufactured goods and agricultural products from Illinois in 2006 were more than $42.08 billion. Nearly 448,400 Illinois jobs are linked to exports.

Illinois ranks #1 in the Midwest as a destination for foreign investment. The state has attracted over 4,669 foreign establishments that employ more than 207,672 Illinoisans.

Illinois' advantages include O'Hare International Airport, among the world's busiest, which is served by all of the major international carriers. In addition to this, thirteen port districts are located in the state, offering companies direct links to the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. More than 170 export managing/trading companies and 125 international freight forwarders and custom house brokers maintain offices in Illinois. Over 70 nations maintain consulates in the state and over 30 international banks have established branches or representative offices in Chicago.